A billionaire game developer has been purchasing thousands of acres in North Carolina. Because?

FIn most of the world, Tim Sweeney is the billionaire brains behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine. But to Southeastern hikers, he’s quickly becoming the most ambitious land conservationist in North Carolina history. Since 2008, Sweeney has used his tech fortune to acquire more than 50,000 acres across 15 counties to build permanent green infrastructure designed to prevent development.

A vision for the trail

Sweeney’s approach focuses on connectivity rather than isolated patches of forest. Using a holding company called Chatham 130, LLC, it identifies biological anchors that allow wildlife and hikers to thrive through vast, unfragmented corridors.

A prime example of this is the Southern Mountains corridor to Pisgah. By funding data-driven modeling with the Foothills Conservancy, Sweeney identified the specific zones needed to link South Mountains State Park to the Pisgah National Forest.

The conservation corridor is anchored in the east by South Mountains State Park, a massive expanse of more than 20,000 acres that serves as a primary stronghold for water quality and interior forest habitat.

To the west, the Box Creek Wilderness serves as a central biological crossroads, encompassing approximately 7,000 acres. This link is further reinforced by Bob’s Creek Natural Area, a 6,000-acre connector that Tim Sweeney systematically acquired and then conveyed to the state to close gaps in the landscape.

Finally, the corridor reaches the Pisgah National Forest, which provides a western anchorage of more than 500,000 acres.

Historic victories for conservation

Sweeney often uses a liquidity-providing strategy, buying land from developers when markets crash to prevent it from being converted into golf courses or luxury properties.

The most famous example is the 7,000-acre Box Creek Wilderness, which contains more than 130 rare species and was the subject of a multi-year legal battle against a utility company’s attempt to string high-voltage power lines through the area. Sweeney won the case and placed the land under a permanent federal easement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Appalachian Trail through the Roan Highlands. Sweeney donated 7,500 acres in the highlands to be managed by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2021. Photo: Mika Byar

In 2021, Sweeney furthered this legacy with the largest donation of private land in North Carolina history: 7,500 acres in Roan Highlands. These high-elevation spruce and spruce forests are now managed by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, which ensures public access for guided hikes and research.

Additionally, its 1,500-acre Stonehill Pines project in the Sandhills involves active restoration, such as prescribed burns, to save habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

Protected species and habitats

The scale of this asset sequestration protects some of the most sensitive residents of the regional Appalachian Trail ecosystem. The sandhills of Moore County provide a refuge for the red-cockaded woodpecker, while areas of Watauga County are safe habitat for the Virginia long-eared bat. Globally rare spruce and spruce forests are preserved in the Roan Highlands, and large-scale corridors provide the space necessary for black bears to roam safely between mountain ranges.

What this means for hikers

While Sweeney’s initial goal is ecological preservation, much of this land is intended for public use. By purchasing land quickly and holding it until the state or a land trust can take it over, it has facilitated massive expansions of Mount Mitchell State Park, South Mountains State Park and Mount Jefferson State Natural Area.

As real estate prices rise, Sweeney has shifted his focus from purchasing new land to ensuring his current 50,000-acre portfolio is permanently protected by legal easements.

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